Cypress Semiconductor has enhanced its TrueTouch touchscreen solution so that hovering a finger over a capacitive display mimics mouseover functionality. The new technology could be used to magnify sections of a small touchscreen prior to activation by touch.
Since Gizmag introduced TrueTouch from Cypress Semiconductor to readers in 2008, the flexible touchscreen architecture - which allows designers "to implement differentiated features and make last-minute design iterations without board changes" - has been in mass production and continual development. The latest innovation to be added is hover support.
As a user's finger approaches the capacitive touchscreen display, the hover detection system not only recognizes its approach but also gauges the distance from the screen and differentiates between hover and touch activation. A practical upshot is that a section of a page on the relatively small screen of a mobile device (such as a phone, GPS or media player) can be magnified without touching the screen, making searching for and activating links or screen icons a might easier.
Dhwani Vyas from Cypress said: "Delivering a mouseover-like capability to the mobile phone space shows that Cypress continues to focus on creative features aligned with market demand. With so much emphasis on web content to the mobile handset, innovative navigation techniques are necessary to bring a familiar web-browsing experience to the user."
Cypress Semiconductor reports that it is aiming to make its new hover support available to customers in the coming months.
